I am moving to Japan for a year, and I want to know how to appropriately store my guns. I have a few rifles + some hand guns that I need to have to leave behind here in the states.
Advice?
They will be locked in a basement. Anything I should know? Thanks!
2007-11-05 05:14:29 · 7 answers · asked by Toilet Finger! 2 in Sports ➔ Outdoor Recreation ➔ Hunting
Unless you have some LEGAL reason to have a need to bury your firearms underground while you are away, forget the PVC.... If you intend to store them "above ground" your only concern that is an issue is moisture and the possibility of "fire". Desiccant /Silica Gel of course is the logical solution to absorb moisture regardless of what storage container you decide on. Plastic wrap is another bad idea as ANY firearm needs to "breathe" in order to prevent the sealing in of moisture, and allowing it to be drawn away from the gun....NOT TRAPPED INSIDE WITH IT! Especially for long term storage of a year or more! The BEST tried and true long term storage is to buy a foam lined plastic storage case..Wrap your entire firearm in a lightly oiled cloth after each gun is cleaned and oiled,(Preferably coating your firearm with a heavy bodied high viscosity gun grease like R.I.G. or even CLP)) and then lay the oil soaked cloth wrapped firearm in the case with a small pack of desiccant (This way the foam never comes in contact with the firearm surface) I can assure you that the foam lined case won't be useable after you get back, as the oil will have soaked into the foam but it will NOT cause any chemical reaction that will harm the firearm.Period.
This is the way it is done in museums for both antique and modern firearms costing thousands of dollars for long term storage, and I have seen this done myself and seen the excellent results.....
You can buy the Desiccant/Silica Gel packs thru Brownells.com and it comes in many sizes depending on the storage container size. It is inexpensive,any in many cases re-usable. They also have the foam lined storage cases for rifles,pistols, shotguns you will need. They are also not expensive.
*This is of course, the cheaper alternative to a Gun Safe...
2007-11-05 07:03:05 · answer #1 · answered by JD 7 · 3⤊ 4⤋
I guess I wasn't as original as I thought, I use the PVC pipes also, but I thread the ends and use caps so no need to saw them apart. I don't use them for storage but they should be great for that. I most use them for transportation, I like them a lot more than cases. I took the bottom cap and filled it with foam to match the butt and the top cap has foam extended out about 3 inches to go over the barrel. A couple of straps wrapped around it with a rope attached and you now have a floatable, watertight carrying case that you can carry on your back that stores great in the bed of pickups.
2007-11-05 08:24:25 · answer #2 · answered by smf_hi 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1st most important thing is humidity control, get dessicant packs or a dehumidifyer, clean and use liberal amounts of oil on the fireams inside and out, get dye free natural fiber cloths to wrap the firearms in, DO NOT store guns for long periods of time in foam lined gun cases. If at all possible store them in something airtight( A buddy of mine actually used PVC pipe and sealed the ends with pvc caps to long term store weapons) Pistols you can use tupperware containers. Make sure you oil the weapons completely, I dont mean dripping wet, but it should be a solid coating of oil inside and out. Make sure you use dessicant packs to get rid of any humidity.
2007-11-05 05:23:13 · answer #3 · answered by boker_magnum 6 · 6⤊ 1⤋
Most of my 17 spend most of their life in the safe with the big can of desiccant and the thin coat of oil left on them after cleaning. I haven't seen any signs of decay. For most of them that's been at least five years. My current job just doesn't allow the time.
2007-11-05 08:35:45 · answer #4 · answered by Chris H 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
HEY I've used that pvc idea too and it works, I stored a mossberg 500 for 3 years in a buried pvc pipe with sealed end caps, when I dug it up and sawed it open, all I had to do was clean off the oil , load it, and shoot it.
2007-11-05 05:40:51 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 4⤊ 1⤋
if you are willing to spend the money, i would reccomend a safe with a dehumidifier, they work wonders. And they will be locked up, safe so no one can get to them, and everything will be kept nice and dry. But they can be very costly
2007-11-05 07:15:35 · answer #6 · answered by Molly =] 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Sell Them!!!!!......To Me :)
The PVC pipes work very well . I put a revolver in one and sprayed lithium grease on it, and hid it under my house about 4 years ago and opened it up earlier this year. I test fired it and sold it with no problems or rust.
2007-11-05 07:10:33 · answer #7 · answered by repentant sinner 4 · 4⤊ 2⤋